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Eaton says contact with Moustakas unintended

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The D-backs' Adam Eaton said that the baseline contact that left the Royals' Mike Moustakas with a cut lip requiring two stitches in Wednesday's game was unintentional.

"I'm a guy trying to find my limitations on the bases and I saw something I thought I could take advantage of and it didn't work out. That's basically where it ends," Eaton said on Thursday. "It seemed like he was distracted, it was right after a strikeout, I thought [James] Shields was distracted, I mean that's how you find out what you can and can't do basically."

Eaton was trying to catch the Royals off guard and steal third base in the first inning, but Moustakas, the third baseman, alerted Shields and the pitcher threw out Eaton. He collided with Moustakas, whose upper lip was cut by Eaton's forearm as he made the tag. He was treated and stayed in the game. Afterward, other than saying Eaton had "no feel for the game," an obviously angry Moustakas wouldn't comment.

"We just kind of got a little tangled up and I guess he took offense to it. You take it your own way and I guess that's just how it crumbled," Eaton said. "There's not too many baseball games that you go through where there's not going to be some chirping, it's going to happen. ... For sure, any guy that steals bases and tries to get an advantage and max out their effort is going to sometimes rub people the wrong way. I just take it with a grain of salt and learn from it."

Moustakas had nothing more to say about it.

Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.